JT325

I thought it was too... and way too rag-dolly on the old turn-arounds. Just not my style, especially while being cemented to the train from the waist down. At a certain point, a coaster really can be too fast for it's own good. Maybe when I rode it, it was a fluke and they used the fast grease during the head wave, I have no clue. I did enjoy the straight-aways though. But our opinions are just two... Obviously, plenty of people love it.

^And that $200 for the Cedar Fair pass is still a GREAT deal and way underpriced.

Give yourself another 15 years... and a few years to see how other parks are run Then you will understand.

^Cha-ching! I mean, my LA Fitness "membership" is $19.99/month and I haven't used it in months. And THAT is a lower-class gym. Six Flags is WAY under-priced. And the quality and operation shows :/

^ I worked at Cedar Point for 3 summers and interned with Six Flags (Arlington for the whole summer and Magic Mountain for one day; there were some issues even back in 1995, and I high-tailed it outta there!) when I was in school... in the 90s. They were very different experiences. In a sense, it was easier at Six Flags because they were very laid-back; as an admired intern from Illinois, they would listen to me and kinda sorta "let me do what I wanted" (in a good way). Cedar Fair was much more structured, stringent and they expect a LOT out of everyone. But in the long run, that way was more rewarding for us employees (we wanted to come back) and better for the business side of the park: to make people have a good time, come back and spend their money.

How dare they charge the exorbitant amount of $6.99 a month for a Six Flags membership with free parking among other perks. The nerve!! I'm not sure what this has to do with ruining Revolution with lame A$$, low capacity VR. Nor, the rest of the industry I was speaking of. Come again? POSSIBLY it was a reference to enthusiasts constantly b*tching about Six Flags operations, yet have no problem with their cheap passes/memberships, free parking etc; Ya get what you pay for...Didn't think that bore an explanation but oooookayyy I DO have a problem giving Six Flags a little money for "membership" to all their parks and parking lots... There is NO OTHER OPTION!!!... to pay a reasonable amount for fair to good service (like Cedar Fair offers). One could argue that Flash Passes are a way to increase my satisfaction if I want to pay more, but it doesn't work out well for someone is looking for an overall pleasant experience. The $198 or whatever I payed last year for a CF Platinum Pass has gotten me overall great experiences at Cedar Point and Knotts Berry Farm. The entire operation is like a different world. Rides run with reasonable reliance and efficiencies, food lines move fast, stuff is clean, etc. Employees know correct answers when you ask them questions... etc. etc. etc. I never blame the employees directly. It's been years of cruddy operations and training. The managers and those in charge of training wouldn't even know how to do many things with a little class. Sounds harsh, but I think it's true. Sure, there is always a shining star manager or employee, but they get lost in the shuffle of poorly-run parks. If SF started charging what I consider to still be a bargain (the $200 range) for a season pass, it would take them years (or never!) to achieve the same smoothness of a Cedar Fair park. Hence my hope that Cedar Fair eventually buys some of the Six Flags parks. Especially Great America (Gurnee) and Magic Mountain.

VR would be cool and make sense... where you have a dual-loading/unloading station. Like Tatsu, for example (not that they would ever do it on a ride like that... you get my point); a parallel, double station. It's still kinda stupid, but that's the only way it makes sense to me. Isn't Europa Park refurbishing one of their old family coasters to have 2 stations (one for VR one for non-VR)?? Geez, those Germans make so much sense some time.

For Revo it's actually gold or platinum and the reason it is 1 res only is because of the horrendous dispatch times. If they have too many FP riders, it slows the line down even more. When I arrived at the park around 3pm a few weeks ago ... they were running both Revo trains, but only 16 of the 40 seats were available due to limits on functioning VR headsets. Yes, you read that correct. They were loading the first 4 cars of ONE train with VR. All other seats were NOT available, even if you wanted to ride without VR. (edit... Oh, and they were not pairing up anyone, so not all 16 seats were being filled...) Luckily, as soon as I sat down, the announcement about the heat shutting down the VR headsets came on. The coaster gods heard my prayers! I still need to do that trip report... But really. That operation was not just obnoxious, a disgrace, embarrassing and stupid... I don't have the final word for it. And those employees - I know better than to blame them. It's all trickle down; training is awful. There is your cheap season pass! Please Cedar Fair buy up some Six Flags parks. Magic Mountain would be a dream.

Coastrider at Knotts... I just rode it a couple weeks ago, holy cow. The modified (formerly standard) MACK restraints are awful. I'm just over 6' and 215lbs. I had to lift my feet up off the floor, attempt to point my knees directly up as tight as I could, then have the ride op push down the bar. For the sake of future riders, I hope they come up with a better design that satisfies the "new" requirements after a kid tried to stick his foot out... I'll throw in RMC as well. Fun rides, but those trains are a hot mess.

^Ahhh... gotcha. I'm not so savvy when it comes to internet sarcasm That triple tower at Hersheypark was every RCT2 fanboys dream! It's so cool!

^Power Tower... Gemini Smart move by Hersheypark, that thing is awesome!

^There were only 2 of those triple wheels to my knowledge, one at each of the Great Americas. There was supposed to be a third Great America park near Washington DC, but that never happened. Intamin also supplied Astroworld, Hersheypark, Kings Island and Magic Mountain with similar double wheels; the "Galaxy" at Magic Mountain had 4 smaller "sweeps" on each of the large arms. Those are the ones I was aware of, there may have been more. I only rode the one at my home park (Great America, Gurnee) and that ride scared me - but I loved it! People were a bit shocked when they took it out for a cruddy ride that never ran (Deja Vu). Sky Whirl was a capacity monster with a very long ride cycle. The ride looked HUGE from the highway and around the park, making up an important park of the park skyline. I believe the highest point was 125', does someone know for sure? Galaxy at Magic Mountain Galaxy at Magic Mountain Giant Wheel at Hersheypark Astrowheel at Astroworld. Note the *original* drop on Texas Cyclone, with it's snapping break-over and 4-bench PTC train. This drop was modified before 1984 to a more gradual break-over (and the PTCs were changed to 3-benches around 1981). Racer with Zodiac double wheel. This wheel was later relocated to Wonderland in Sydney, Australia.

Did you guys notice the proper operation of an Arrow looper!? One train goes down the first drop, the next train is on the lift. I never rode TOCentury, but I do remember that operation at Demon (at my home Great America, here in Gurnee). As soon as the train went down the drop, you would hear that loud ripping sound of the next train latching on and ratcheting at the bottom of the lift. And then the nose would peek out above the 'lift rocks.' Good times! Get in, pull down your bar, and your off! Simple times. Logical times.

Ahh, you're one of those enthusiasts... Ever hear the story of the enthusiast who tried to get "true airtime" on Raven at an event in like 2003? She left the restraint a few clicks loose and died on the 5th drop when she was ejected from the train. One could argue she really "left her seat" Um... no. I am not "one of those enthusiasts." For someone that has been going to HW since 1995, that stings a bit. On several levels. Quite a rude thing to say. Well, it's just an opinion. I like the type of airtime where your butt actually moves off the seat. The other stuff is good, just not the same. For me.

For real? That's gotta be a VERY minority opinion. The Eagle is a fun ride, and a nostalgic favorite of mine considering that I grew up with the thing (born in '76), but best woodie in the chain? For real! It's a tie (for me) between Eagle and Le Monstre at La Ronde; I realize these are not considered by the majority of coaster fans to be top-tier rides, but I have had outstanding rides on both. I've had many lame rides on Eagle over the years, but it has been running very good for the past few years. Between 2010-2012, it was running brakeless for a few spurts, which was freaking incredible. When Eagle runs brakesless AND with recent trackwork, I call it "Phoenix meets Voyage." It's no joke. Especially that return run on red, it's incredible. As for Le Monstre, it's a completely different ride with the heavy PTC trains they put on it several years ago. You can really feel that Bill Cobb influenced butt kicking. For the majority, sure. I totally get that. I thought El Toro was a fun ride, but being stapled that TIGHT into a roller coaster train ... it's just not for me. I would rather have good airtime - where you get to leave the seat - versus the type of "uplift forces" (called as such to differentiate them from true airtime) that try to separate your spine from the rest of your body, which consequently require extremely tight seating and restraints (like El Toro and RMC rides). I was spoiled in the 80s and 90s with such treats as Texas and Riverside Cyclones, a brand new 1990 Texas Giant and Georgia Cyclone, and a 1989 Timberwolf. It was a time where rides could run wild, buzz bars were fine (well, the 2 in 1990 were the first to feature ratchets, but those were still wild as hell), and people didn't freak out if they didn't have a seatbelt. I like being thrown around on a coaster, and made to think I'm going to flip over a lap bar. It's just a totally different experience when you can't move from the waist down, and the seats on your side are buckets like RMC. Don't get me wrong, I still love RMC and all the newer stuff, but I enjoy the classic-style rides much more. They tend to be longer, and have variations in pacing, all which I enjoy immensely.

Now there is a beautiful paint job. I haven't seen Eagle look this good in a long time. Running like a bat out of hell as well. Still my favorite woodie in the chain (red side airtime woohoo).

Someone posted this on SFGAMworld.com: Maybe Lobster will be ready for Fright Fest? I was hoping to give it a spin later tonight. It's taking a while, but I'm personally happy my home SF park takes special care of some classics.

I hope you have a good time at La Ronde. My only trip there was a couple years ago, and despite the place being a ... sad dump of a park (sorry, have to be honest), there were a few things that were AWESOME: 1 - Le Monstre. With the PTC trains (I assume it was sluggish with the Morgans, per the standard), this thing really is a monster. It's got that Bill Cobb kick-you-when-you-least-expect-it feel to it. Loved it. My favorite woodie in the SF chain. 2 - That silly little portable Vekmoma corkscrew. Man, does it look to be in bad shape. The single train was ripped apart and full of graffitti. It would have been at home at Coney Island around 1992. But the ride was surprisingly good! Maybe my 2 rides were a fluke. It was no pleasure trip, but still enjoyable. I attribute the strange feel of it to all the movable points in the structure; it's not welded together like the standard Arrow/Vekoma, so much of the shock and vibration was absorbed before it came through the seat. Don't get me wrong, there is a still a running vibration due to the old wheels and chipped paint, but the micro-accelerations that usually hurt are mostly gone. Subtle stuff, but think about it. 3 - The mini-monorail. A great view of the park. Made me think how much potential the park has. I dream Cedar Fair would buy this place one day (along with Magic Mountain and a few other SF parks). 4 - The condor ride. Holy cow, is this running on a German fair program? It was fast as hell. I've never experienced a condor that fast, so it really took me by surprise. They have a dilapidated old sky tower. It was orange, and a trainwreck. Hot inside, just a mess. Such a shame. So many great rides, a great location, and a reasonably great set-up. So much potential! I thought there should be a walkway connecting the area from Dragon to the other side of the park. Oh well, do your best!

Well I gotta few more for you. When the track was still new and they were testing colors of blue AND you remember what the ride was like (and what it was meant to be), in those first few years.

To my best memory, physical restraint checks by employees started after the Great Adventure Lightnin' Loops (completely preventable) accident in 1987. To piggyback on that (and related to slow loading), sometime after that airgates started going in on Six Flags rides. Cedar Point didn't even have air gates when I worked there in the 90s. Most of it was common sense: 0 - Stand behind the line because the coaster train will crush you. 1 - Hurry up and get in because your ride is here and there are people waiting behind you. 2 - Pull down your lap or shoulder bar. 3 - Hold on to your stuff. If you loose it, too bad. The reasons why everything has devolved, and people have to be babysat... probably another topic. I'd rather not go there myself. Too frustrating.

^That does make sense, let's hope it turns out that way. Thank you.

They should name it "The Capacity Monster" Joking and eye rolling aside (Six Flags almost bags for it continuously), this really does look to be a fun and interesting new ride. It's going to be freaky and awesome to have so little around you up there alone in that seat. I hope the seats are more comfortable than their regular trains.

^^Sounds nice! I like going to parks when it's cold out. Well, all the time really, but... My question is what rides will be open?

Oh my. That magic carpet was straight from heaven. My (many) rides on the Texas Giant were in 1990 (ACE con) and 1995 (I was a park intern that year). The entire ride was seriously awesome, but I know that didn't last. But man, that magic carpet. It was like little magic shining sprinkles on to of a gut buster ice cream cone. What is that section like now?

Capacity. Tsk Tsk Tsk. The ride looks fun though!